Here at Fantasy Rugby Geek, living up to our name as Rugby Geeks, we have a bit of an obsession… with stash. We know we’re not the only ones, and we’re in good company along with the good stash-loving folks at The Eggchasers Rugby Podcast and Rugby Shirt Watch as we can’t help but analyse, scrutinise and spend an inordinate amount of cash any new rugby shirt that takes our fancy.
So, without further ado, and offering absolutely zero use to your fantasy team, here’s our overview of who’s playing a man of the match or should hang their head in shame as the dick of the day in the world of stash in this season’s Aviva Premiership…
Bath
Bath’s classic blue, black and white home shirt is very hard to screw up, and as always Canterbury have delivered the goods, sticking with simple and traditional hoops with a nice understated logo and emblem, with a subtle gold strip on the inside of the collar. A classy affair. The away shirt is a bit more of a minimalist affair. Plain white shirts, plain blue shorts. Simple and no-nonsense, just don’t spill your Guinness down it. Bath have also released a third “European” kit, which is all black with a blue fading into white strip around the just, and a centred emblem and logo. All nice enough, but if you are putting your hard-earned cash anywhere it should be on the timeless home shirt.
Bath’s kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Huge Rugby and here at Lovell Rugby
Exeter Chiefs
In recent time’s Exeter’s kit designers at Samurai have gone all out exercising a considerable degree of artistic license, however this year’s home shirt is a picture of minimalism and restraint. It’s a plain black shirt, with a round neck and some subtle grey hatching on the waist. Very simple, and actually pretty cool. What has happened to the outlandish design that Exeter has been famed for? Well look no further than the cup shirt, which has nothing subtle or minimalist about it. Pink, garish, complete with stars and a chief motif, it will certainly make you stand out if you wear this one out to the pub…
Exeter Chiefs’ kits are currently available in the official club shop and here at Samurai Sports
Gloucester
The cherry and whites have made some very subtle tweaks to their kits this season, sticking with the classic red and white hoops, with a black collar and black shorts. The Mitsubishi logo has been integrated well into the red hoop below the chest keeping a balanced look. This is simple but effective effort; definitely one of the best in the X-Blades era. No sign of an away kit as yet, so keep your eyes peeled.
Gloucester’s kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Huge Rugby and here at Lovell Rugby
Harlequins
Last year’s Adidas 150th anniversary Harlequins home shirt was a thing of absolute beauty, which now cannot be bought for neither love nor money, and rightly so. This year’s home shirt is pleasant enough, but doesn’t hit the highs of last year. There is only so much you can do with a Quins home shirt, and this year’s flourish to add a bit of originality is the inverse of the shirt of two years ago; the top quarters have been elongated with the lower quarters shortened, this is to create a sort of “all in one” look with the shorts. A look that has certainly divided opinion in those who that Fantasy Rugby Geek has discussed the shirt with. Quins’ away shirts are always a vehicle where the designers have more artistic license and this year’s away shirt is a stormer. As with the Adidas Super Rugby kits for the Lions’ tour matches, Adidas has designed a shirt displaying Harlequin’s local heritage featuring the boroughs of London. While the home shirt is probably the weakest since Adidas’ deal began with Quins, the away shirt is undoubtedly a hit.
Harlequins’ kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Huge Rugby and here at Lovell Rugby
Leicester Tigers
The new Leicester home shirt is simple and traditional, and when the kit in question is the iconic green, red and white of the Tigers, that is no bad thing. Simple red and white hoops interspersed with racing green and darker green hoops, Kukri have produced a classic. Even better is the away shirt, a classy white affair with red and green pinstripe hoops and a V-neck with collar, it keeps the traditional tigers value but injects freshness and originality into it. Bravo Kukri and Tigers, bravo.
London Irish’s kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Lovell Rugby
London Irish
As yet, only London Irish’s home shirt is available. It’s a no-nonsense affair by X-Blades, simple racing green with white pinstripe detailing up the sleeves, and a classic old-school rugby collar. Not offensive in the slightest but not exactly bursting with originality.
London Irish’s kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Lovell Rugby
Newcastle Falcons
The Falcons kit this year is produced by ISC, and this year they have gone down a fairly traditional route with a plain black body and black and white striped sleeves. They don’t seem to have agreed a main shirt sponsor for season which gives an already quite minimalist shirt an even sparser look. All in all it is quite a refined but classy affair. Still quite some way from the Falcon’s Adidas heyday but still a nice shirt.
Newcastle Falcons’ kits are only currently available directly via their club shop here
Northampton Saints
Think Northampton Saints and you think green, yellow and black and their perfectly matched shirt sponsor in Travis Perkins. Always a great match in branding; sadly, no longer the case with their new sponsor, the white, red and blue ToolStation, which provides a colour palette that is hugely unsympathetic to the traditional Saints colours (Am I overthinking this?). With the exception of the new sponsor, the shirt itself, by Macron, does not break away from tradition and ensures that the classic green, yellow and black hoops are maintained. Saints have had a bit of a chequered history with their away shirts, and sadly this year’s addition does not help that history, bright neon green with faded hoops and a round neck. It’s far from a classic, and in all honesty, is a bit of an assault on the eyeballs. Saints redeem themselves with the cup shirt (not least because good old Travis Perkins are back!), one half classic Northampton hoops with a black half on the other side, it’s the best-looking kit they’ll wear this season by a country mile.
Northampton Saints’ kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Lovell Rugby
Sale Sharks
It’s quite hard to find much on the new Sale Kit, but from what we’ve seen from the press shots, the new kit from Samurai is plain navy with what looks like a motif of a load of octopus/squid tentacles (?!) on the right sleeve and left waist. Despite the slightly random design, it’s simple and from what we can see, it looks great. Keep an eye out for the Sale Squids!
Sale Sharks’ kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Huge Rugby and here at Lovell Rugby
Saracens
Sarries have stuck with tradition for their home shirt, which is produced this season by BLK. A primarily black shirt with thin red and grey horizontal stripes; note the introduction this season of a second European Cup star on the badge and the detailing on the inside of the collar of those all-important Sarries cultural values of workrate, discipline, honesty and humility (love it or hate it, you can’t deny that it definitely works for them!). The away effort is a new colour palette for Saracens, lime green and white utilising the same design template as the home shirt. The colours don’t work as well as on the home shirt, so in our humble opinion, you’re better off sticking with the home kit.
Saracens’ kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Huge Rugby and here at Lovell Rugby
Wasps
Wasps have had some pretty disappointing efforts since moving to Under Armour, but this year they have got it seriously right. Both home and away are ridiculously classy, the best kits they’ve had in years. The home kit is a throwback to the mid-90’s kits worn by the likes of Dallaglio, Gomarsall and Shaw, with a plan black body and white collar, it’s simple and refined. The away kit is the inverse of the home kit and works just as well. A brilliant effort by Wasps and Under Armour.
Wasps’ kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Lovell Rugby
Worcester Warriors
Under Armour are also behind the new Worcester kits, but their offering for the Warriors isn’t quite at the lofty heights of the new Wasps kits. The home shirt uses the classic Worcester gold and blue, but something lacks in the execution. The kit has largely navy body with a gold chevron below the neck and gold sleeves. It’s far from offensive, and probably and improvement on last season’s kit, but they still could do much better. The away kit is red with horizontal navy stripes, and reminds us of an inverse of recent Saracens home kits. Like Northampton, their best effort is actually the cup shirt, which combines gold and blue hoops with a solid navy top and hooped navy sleeves, reminiscent of the classic Canterbury Worcester kits of the late 90’s/early 2000’s
Worcester Warriors’ kits are only currently available directly via their club shop here
So there you go, it certainly won’t help your fantasy team, and we won’t take it personally if you completely disagree with our assessment, but that is the Fantasy Rugby Geek’s stash review of the 17/18 season!
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